


Won't You Cut Down That Apple Tree For Me?

by haunted_by_catholic_guilt



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Chronic Pain, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fever, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Jet Sikuliaq is the best, M/M, Parental Buddy Aurinko, Peter Nureyev Needs a Hug, Peter Nureyev uses a cane, Rita is a Good Friend (Penumbra Podcast), Sickfic, Vomiting, Whump, but its important to me, its not important to the story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:20:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27859714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haunted_by_catholic_guilt/pseuds/haunted_by_catholic_guilt
Summary: Peter slept until he was awoken by a painful ache and burning feeling in his stomach, and he curled tighter into himself to try and avoid it.He distantly remembered his time with Mag, how the few times he got sick, he was treated with a mix of soft comforts and angry lectures about how he was wasting time, how he’d never get anywhere like this.
Relationships: Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel, Rita & Juno Steel
Comments: 3
Kudos: 107





	Won't You Cut Down That Apple Tree For Me?

**Author's Note:**

> TW FOR VOMITING AND IMPLIED CHILD ABUSE
> 
> god I love my crime moms

Peter was an intelligent man.

He had to be, his entire life career depending on it.

His career also depended on him being constantly ready to go, always nimble, and on his feet.

So when he woke up to a chest and head filled with cotton, he knew he had to file it away if he wanted to stay on the Carte Blanche.

He looked into the mirror over the sink, his face was a sickening pale with a violent flush over his cheeks, and dark rings under his eyes.

He sighed, it was gonna be a long day, they had a debrief planned for a heist, not until the next week, which he hoped whatever this was would clear up by then.

It was later than he usually got up, meaning almost everyone was up, Jet was usually already up by now, Vespa and Buddy woke up shortly after him, Rita was up around the same time as he was, and Juno slept the latest, not waking up for an hour or so after Rita, meaning he had about half an hour before his lady woke up.

He quickly got his makeup out, and speedily did it, namely ignoring the slight burning he felt from it, his skin did always get sensitive with fevers.

His body ached, more so than usual, a doctor had once described it as a condition which caused his nerves to fire near constantly, leaving him in constant pain, sometimes worse than other times.

He knew that, realistically, the illness would make the pain worse, meaning it would be harder to hide both conditions from the crew as he had been doing.

Juno had only found his cane, which he refused to use, once, when he was sleeping in Nureyev’s cabin while looking for an extra blanket due to the chilliness of the Carte Blanche, and Peter was able to brush it off as something from an old disguise and a joke about old age.

Juno seemed to believe him, and for that he was thankful.

With his makeup done, he quietly slipped back into his cabin, where Juno laid sleeping sound, to grab his clothing, choosing a comfortable button-down and a pair of loose-fitting dress pants, much more laid back than his usual attire, and he prayed it wouldn’t turn any heads.

Peter ran his hand through his hair, ignoring the heat he felt on his own head, and he stepped out of his room, slowly and painfully making his way to the kitchen.

“Good morning Peter, you’re up later than usual. Is everything alright?”

Buddy didn’t sound worried, probably just assumed he was slacking off.

“My apologies, Captain, I’m doing well.”

He was distantly aware he didn’t make much sense, but the layer of fog between him and everyone else made it a bit difficult to actually care.

Buddy nodded, but Peter noted that Vespa didn’t look convinced, understandable saying she was the ship’s Doctor of sorts.

He felt arms wrap around his stomach, and his lady rest his head against his back, still heavy with sleep.

“Goodmornin Mista Steel and Mista Ransom!”

Rita, energetic as always, bounced into the kitchen and sat on a stool at the table, and Jet placed a coffee before her, overloaded with cream and sugar, just how she liked it.

His beloved groaned into his back and nuzzled his dave further into his back.

“You both seem tired today, have a fun night?”

Juno groaned, and peter laughed softy, not having the energy to formulate a reply, and Juno slipped away quietly, sitting next to Rita as Jet handed him his own coffee, and Peter only mourned the loss of contact momentarily.

He sat next to Juno, and Jet handed him his usual drink of choice, which was a herbal tea with ungodly amounts of honey.

He smiled at the kind man, who nodded back gently, never one for expressions.

A shiver ran through him as he grasped the hot mug, and he hoped that no one saw it, all while the residential doctor was staring bullets through him.

Everyone split up after that, knowing they’d need to remeet for dinner and the debrief and a part of Peter wasn’t sure he’d make it that long.

He was shaken out of his thoughts by Juno, who was saying something but it wasn’t really touching his brain.

“Nureyev, what’s wrong with you today?”

Ah, so Juno was perhaps noticing something.

“Nothing, my dear, just a little tired.”

Juno didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t push it.

Peter excused himself quietly to practice his newest identity for the heist, but realistically he was just planning on sleeping the time until the debrief away. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Peter slept until he was awoken by a painful ache and burning feeling in his stomach, and he curled tighter into himself to try and avoid it.

He distantly remembered his time with Mag, how the few times he got sick, he was treated with a mix of soft comforts and angry lectures about how he was wasting time, how he’d never get anywhere like this.

He desperately tried to file these thoughts away, but was unable to, the images of Mags disappointed face, shifting into his bloodied body-

Peter whimpered and drew his blanket into his face, trying best he could to ignore the pain and ignore the crying he heard in his head.

The next thing he knew he was hanging over the side of his bed, heaving up a mix of his breakfast and bile, and he cried realizing what was happening.

He knew his attempts to move would make things worse, so he curled into a ball under the light blanket on his bed, and let himself fall into a fitful sleep.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Juno knew something was off with Peter, and as a detective, he was going to get to the bottom of it.

He made an internal list, Peter seemed to have woken up later than normal, and when he had hugged him, his skin seemed unnaturally hot.

Nureyev was ill. 

Probably very ill, from the looks of it.

Juno sighed and ran his hands through this hair, he was never the best at taking care of people.

When he was young and Ben was ill, he spent most of it worriedly pacing by his bedside and doing what ben did for him, and stealing from stores when he needed something.

The one time Rita was ill, she was predictably good at caring for herself, only needing him to go and get some stuff from the store for her, which he did and possibly went overboard.

And when he was ill, and anyone would take care of him, it was Rita.

Even when he was with Diamond, Rita would always know, he came into work anyway but she’d be sure to take care of him there, and ask if he wanted to stay with her instead of Diamond.

He paced nervously around his room, thinking about what to do.

He could go into Nureyev's room and demand he admits he was ill right now, or he could be strategic, even though that involved letting the thief burn himself out some until he let his guard down.

He painfully decided the ladder might be the best option, and in an attempt to distract himself, he hung out with Rita, watching streams and ignoring the sinking feeling in his chest.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was dinner time on the Carte Blanche, and everyone was gathered in the kitchen.

Everyone except Peter.

Juno’s stomach dropped when he realized Peter wasn’t there, and he made eye contact with the rest of the crew, except for Jet who was pointedly avoiding it.

After a few seconds, a loud crash was heard from down the hallway, and within seconds they were all running down the hall to where it was.

Juno wasn’t usually the fastest runner, but when his love may have been involved he was incredibly fast, which is why he and Jet got there first.

Juno’s heart froze when he saw Nureyev, shaking and pale, in a pile of his own sick and covered in it unable to move.

Juno was hard to scare, but this did it for him.

“Fuck”

He crouched next to the ill thief, avoiding the pile of sick, and the ex-detective could feel the heat from him without even touching him.

Juno gathered his boyfriend into his arms as Vespa, Buddy and Rita ran into the room, Rita and Buddy stopping next to Jet, and Vespa joining Juno at Peter’s side.

“Fuck, he’s burning up.”

Vespa growled, as she held Peter’s limp wrist, checking for a pulse and temperature.

“I knew something was off why didn’t the idiot just tell us.”

Vespa was angry, understandably, she was a medic and she had threatened them all in the past if they kept something from her.

“Vespa, dear, why don’t we just take him down to the medbay and yell at him later on.”

Jet carried Peter to the medbay, where he was hooked up to an IV for hydration and given fever reducers, all by a grumbling Vespa, while Juno sat worriedly nearby.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Juno sat next to the thief’s bed, him having been moved back into his room after it had been cleaned, mostly due to the more comfortable bed.

It has been a long day and Juno was beyond exhausted, Nureyev was still asleep, not having moved since they found him.

“J’no?”

The ex-detective bolted up from where he was falling asleep, against his will, and looked around before his eye landed on the thief.

“Peter, oh thank god.”

Juno shifted, sitting on the side of the bed and running his hands through his love’s hair, checking his temperature and offering comfort.

“Hi, love, how do you feel?”

The sick man looked around, confused, and tired.

“What happen’d?”

Juno’s heart broke at the confusion and pain his boyfriend was in, a tenderness he didn’t know he was cable of feeling until today washed over him.

“You got sick, baby, we had to take you to the medbay and you have an IV, why didn’t you tell us you weren’t feeling well?”

Peter leaned into Juno’s hand, which was now on his cheek, and a look of guilt washed over him.

“Di’nt wanna bother you, busy and all that.”

Juno wiped a tear that slipped down Peter’s face, and leaned in to kiss his forehead.

“Baby, you’re always more important then anything we’re working on, I don’t care if you’re just a little sick, I wanna know so I can help you.”

Peter still looked guilty, and Juno slipped his slippers off, and climbed into the bed with the thief.

“Vespa will probably be by soon to check on you, you gave all of us a scare.”

As if on cue, someone knocked on the door and it opened to reveal Buddy, Vespa, Rita, and Jet standing behind it, Vespa with her medical kit, Buddy holding a tray of tea, Rita with snacks, and Jet with a stack of blankets and pillows.

“Hello darlings, we thought we’d keep you some company, some family time, hm?”

Vespa walked over, angry as always, and looked over the thief, who lay confused and half asleep, after a few moments, her posture eased and she moved to take out the IV.

Jet set the pillows and blankets on the ground, and Rita quickly organized them all into a pile, after safely handing the snacks to Jet, and Buddy set the tea on the nightstand, pouring a cup for everyone and adding honey to Peter’s.

She and her wife then sat in some chairs in the room, and Rita turned on the streams, and Peter fell asleep surrounded by his family.

**Author's Note:**

> follow my tumblr at haunted-by-catholic-guilt and send prompts!


End file.
